Lost and Found
by Okaeri
Summary: After a terrible accident, Kuroko is missing and everyone thinks he's dead. Will The Generation of Miracles ever meet their Phantom Player? Will Aomine ever come to terms with his feelings for the lost player? Does Kuroko even want to go back? GoM time, OOC, OC, AU, and slash! REUPLOADED
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, I'm an awful flake of an author. I don't own Kuroko No Basuke because I probably wouldn't finish it...**

**Sorry, I know this prologue is pretty boring for something involving a huge fire. Please have patience, I've never been good at introductions. If it comes off as preachy, don't worry, there isn't a big moral or anything.**

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It all started with a cigarette or, to be more suffice, a school punk. He wasn't a bad kid, he just liked to rebel.

He was celebrating his success in passing a certain class with a perfectly popular item- a cigarette. True, they weren't allowed on school grounds, but he was smoking at the back, near an alley. Everyone avoided the gym, middle schoolers hated exercise on principle. He knew no one would catch him if he made sure to blow his smoke in the direction of the alley as he had on multiple occasions.

When the school bell rang for the last time and he had to leave, the school punk merely shrugged and flicked the cigarette away. It was almost out and he didn't see any trash cans. Perfectly normal, accepted if not acceptable behavior.

The school punk left, an easy grin on his face. He hadn't done anything wrong, he just left to party with his friends now that school was over.

Of course, had he been able to pass a few other classes, he would've known to aim away from the dried grass lining the building, or to not flick a cigarette during a particularly dry summer. Had the school punk been an athlete, he would've known the gym had plenty of dry wood inside, and the place was going to be renovated just a week later for safety purposes.

He didn't, so perhaps he should be excused for the disaster that happened after such a simple act.

...

"Holy shit, the gym's on fire!" That was the first warning, almost excited but filled with instinctual fear.

"Oh my god!" "What the hell?" "Someone call a teacher!" Were the following responses, along with further curses and screams. Students swarmed around the blazing gym liked frenzied bees, keeping a healthy distance, but no longer moving along to go home.

Teachers were buzzing nervously, trying to get in between the middle schoolers and the fire, without actually getting close to the burning building. Everyone's hesitance to approach was quickly brushed away when a girl who went by the name of Satsuki Momoi let out a terrified shriek.

"Daiki is in there!"

Pure panic erupted, for everyone knew that name- Daiki Aomine. It was the name of a player in their famous basketball team- the team that was the school's pride and joy.

"What the hell was he doing in there?" A green haired boy demanded, clutching a pair of yarn mittens. He was on the same team as Daiki Aomine, his name was Shintaro Midorima.

"I don't know, he goes to practice there after school!" Momoi sobbed, and it was then the fire department arrived.

Without pause, two firefighters stormed past the crowd, heavy gear and masks tightly strapped on. They headed right into the building, not a waver in their step as they heard Momoi shout out desperately, "Save Daiki!"

As the two brave souls disappeared in the searing heat, another firefighter began to herd the kids away, rounding up to teachers to begin sending everyone off.

Of course this was a difficult job, children were either crying hysterically or watching the action eagerly. The middle schoolers who would run away at the sight of fire had already done so, leaving this group behind.

A few of Aomine's teammates were also in the crowd, though most had already left for home before the fire was discovered. They were tall and muscular, the teachers weren't very forceful in their urgings for evacuation in the face of their cold strength.

Momoi was left alone, she was kneeling in the dirt tearing her hair out in anxiety and terror. The teammates were standing around her, keeping the girl from the students who were slowly being driven away from the blaze.

And what a blaze it was. The entire building was engulfed in orange and yellow flames. They stretched to the sky, breathing out huge puffs of black smoke. Half the already weakened building collapsed in on itself, and the teachers could spot areas where the roof had caved in.

Right as the other firefighters began spraying the burning gym with hoses, two soot-covered men ducked out of a crackling, creaking doorway. In between them hung a clearly unconscious boy, his blackened body limp and dragging in the mud.

Momoi dove for them, crying and screaming over Aomine, as the firefighters made a beeline for their truck.

"He's knocked out, only a twisted ankle as far as I can tell." One shouted over his shoulder, taking pity on the children still staring in concern.

Without pause, they put him in a stationed ambulance and turned to their comrades.

"No one else was in there, just douse the sucker and keep the kids away." He advised, relief shaded by concern playing on his dirty face.

They did just that, successfully getting the rest of the children away now that the team was distracted with meeting up with Aomine at the hospital and most already sated with the successful rescue.

Everything was fine now, as far as anyone could tell.

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**And that's the first chapter, I've got four more already written- lets see if I can finish this one.**

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I know my beginnings suck, so I added the next chapter. I don't own Kuroko no Basuke, do you? O_o**

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Kuroko and Aomine had been practicing basketball after school, just as they had any other day. The gym was filled with the sounds of basketball and players. The soft grunts and pants, the squeaking of sneakers on the floor, the slap of the ball being bounced in between them. It was completely average, if not enjoyable.

Then Kuroko had wrinkled his nose, brow furrowed slightly. He smelled something odd, unpleasant. Had something been burned nearby?

Brushing it from his mind, the boy continued to play with the basketball prodigy, mirroring moves when he could or practicing his own special attacks.

Then it grew stronger, the sharp scent stung his eyes and distracted him. It was acrid and strong, what was it? Athletes sweating in a closed area already created quite the odor itself, so how could it blot out the long enduring scent with this new aroma?

Aomine could tell something was bothering him by the fifth time he stole the ball from Kuroko without effort. "Oi, Tetsu, get your head in the game." He murmured, frowning at his friend.

Kuroko blinked and turned away from the taller teen, his nose twitching. "I'm sorry." He bowed formally and pushed it away once more. Still, it tripped him up. Alarm was ringing in his head, distracting him at the worst times. He tripped over his own maneuvering more than once, and Aomine was getting fed up fast.

"Geez, if you're not going to take this seriously than go home!" He huffed angrily, letting the basketball drop from his hand to roll away carelessly. Of all the people to slack off, he would never have suspected Tetsu. Taking in a deep breath to reprimand his practice partner, he caught wind of something different.

"Do you smell that?" He asked curiously, and Kuroko nodded immediately. Now that Aomine smelled it as well, he was getting worried. Kuroko turned away to begin searching the area for any sign of something different. Had someone left a strong smelling substance in the lockers, or in the bleachers?

"It smells like incense." Aomine shrugged but Kuroko shook his head. He disagreed, there was no true herb mixing with the air. However, Aomine might have been very close.

"It smells like smoke." Kuroko stated firmly. Still looking away, Kuroko began to wander to a corner of the court, his eyes watering from the shart scent. Something was definitely burning, and it was very close to the gym. As he walked closer to the corner, a crackling sound could be heard faintly. Was something still on fire?

Creaking and groaning had him narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the wall in front of him. Was it coming from somewhere in the gym?

"Tetsu, look out!" A rough shove sent him flying into the corner, smashing his head against the wall. Deafening crashes and a booming roar sent him reeling in confusion, and searing heat bombarded him from all sides.

Spinning around as fast as his dazed body would allow him to, Kuroko was faced with a wall of burning brick, wood, and debris. Smoke choked the tiny space he was allowed, clogging his throat and stinging his skin.

The very gym was on fire!

"Ao-Aomine-kun!" He choked out, coughing hoarsely as his lungs suddenly felt much smaller than they really were.

He climbed to his feet, pressing his back against the wall to keep from touching the flickering flames, desperately searching for his friend.

The blast of the fire made his weak voice inaudible, he couldn't even hear himself against the din. Still, his watering eyes connected with both a terrifying and wonderful sight.

Aomine lay, seemingly unharmed on the gym floor a few feet away. However, he wasn't getting up, wasn't moving at all. Had something hit him? Plenty of large debris sprinkled the spot in which he lay. Was he alright?

"A-Aom-mine-k-..." He couldn't finish, every inhalation felt like gravel in his throat. A hot coal sat in his chest, growing in heat and size as he continued to breathe the ash-filled air.

Kuroko began searching for a way past the wall of fire, he needed to get to his friend. Aomine was in danger, he could be burned at any time and was possibly injured. The fiery rubble that fell now began to spread, devouring everything in its path without direction or hurry.

"Ao-Aomin..." He croaked, finding himself at a loss of what to do. He was cut off in a corner, there wasn't any place to climb and the fire was wide enough for him to know a leap of faith would not be advised.

Just as he was considering the merits of leaping anyway to somehow reach the fallen player, he heard a welcome noise. The sound of shouts over the crackling of the burning gym felt like music to his ears.

"Is anyone in here? Hello? Tell me where you are!"

In his line of sight came two firefighters, identified by their thick gear and yellow helmets. They found Aomine in a matter of seconds and dragged him away from Kuroko and the worst of the fire.

"H-help! I'm o-over h-he-ere!" Kuroko called once he decided Aomine was no longer in immediate danger. However, neither firefighters spared him a glance.

Alarm thudding hard in his chest, Kuroko threw his arms in the air, waving them wildly. "H-h-help! I'm h-here!" He coughed as loudly as he could, but they were beginning to drag Aomine away without any sign of hearing the boy.

Pure, chilling terror sent a shiver down his spine as Kuroko began slamming himself against the wall of the gym, hoping to create more noise. Desperately, he smacked and punched the hot plaster as hard as he could, shouting wordlessly for help.

The firefighters gave one last check over the gym, their gazes sliding right off of Kuroko's panicking form without hesitation. They couldn't see him, they couldn't hear him, and they couldn't save him. It seemed his weak presence might just be the death of him.

Heart thudding nauseatingly in his chest, Kuroko began looking around with a new, frantic speed. He needed to get out right then, no one was going to help him and the gym could collapse at any minute.

The fire was growing, spreading. His little corner would soon be engulfed.

His options were now split; try breaking through the wall or jump into the fire in hopes of surviving. Biting clean through his lip, Kuroko turned to the wall first. The building was weak and burning, perhaps the wall would cave if he tried hard enough.

Kuroko took a short breath, struggling to keep it in as his lungs threatened to cough it out, and threw himself at the wall.

He knew he was being wild and unintelligent, but his desperation was growing with each time the flames began to touch his skin. Light burns already covered his legs and torso from just being too close to the fire, he didn't want to see what would happen if it took over his corner completely.

Clawing at the paint, slamming himself against the wall, kicking and punching as he would an enemy. His nails broke, dark bruises began to blossom everywhere, and his bones creaked under the force of his blows.

After several minutes of beating himself bloody, Kuroko sagged against the dented, shredded wall. He was shaking with exhaustion, he was doubled over hacking out any air he managed to inhale. Smoke had taken up all of his corner, he could barely see and even his skin was beginning to darken against the terrible clouds.

Reddened eyes turned to gaze at the huge blaze of violent yellow and red. Hopelessness dragged at his limbs and he blinked at it, emotionless. He was going to die, should he try his last option?

Turning to fully take in the wall of fire, Kuroko squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for what might be the last moments in his relatively short life. He would never become a better basketball player, he would never see Aomine become the best in the world, he would never see quite a lot of things.

As he tensed for the leap, a sickening crack shoved his stomach into his shoes. Looking up, Kuroko barely had time to blink as the ceiling above him crumbled to rain down on his head in flaming clumps of metal and ash.

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**What do you think? I know Kuroko is a bit dramatic, but it seems like he's pretty emotional in the manga- even if he has the funniest blank look ever. I know next to nothing about fires by the way, can you tell?**

**Update 7/17/13**

**I might have edited in another paragraph or two, but it shouldn't be too noticeable.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the short chapter, I'm still deciding whether to put all the points of view into a small amount of short chapters, or vice versa. **

**I don't own Kuroko No Basket.**

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"His pulse is picking up." A soft, detached voice alerted, and there were a few scuffing sounds.

"Get some morphine ready, he should be waking up soon." Steady footsteps faded away as a click of a door opening and closing echoed throughout the room. Though someone had left, sound still occurred, alerting to more people in the room.

Aomine shifted slightly, dull pain lanced through his entire body with each shallow breath. He was completely confused, what had happened? Why did he hurt? Had he gotten into an accident?

"Aomine? Are you finally awake?" A voice demanded close to his head, dragging Aomine further into consciousness. Was that Midorima? He forcefully pried his eyes open, wincing as they stung immediately. He took a raspy breath, feeling as though he'd been punched in the throat.

Licking cracked, dried lips, he looked around.

He was in a hospital room, hooked up to a few monitors and an IV. Surrounding him were a few of his teammates. Midorima's stern face was inches from his own within seconds, and the boy opened his mouth with a huff. "Guys! the moron is awake!" He bellowed right into his ear, gruff concern swimming in the bespectacled boy's eyes.

Aomine lurched away, a heavy scowl on his face as his whole body rang with pain. "I'm right here, idiot." He snapped, glancing down at himself for a moment. While he was covered in small bandages, one being a ring of gauze around his head, the only large injury he could see was a cast around his leg. A shard of fear pierced his heart as he stared down at it. This injury wouldn't affect his basketball career, would it?

"Dammit, Aomine! You didn't wake up and dragged everyone over here to check on your useless ass! How inconsiderate can you get? You're girlfriend only just left to go get your homework-" Midorima ranted as Haizaki, Murasakibara, and Akashi drew walked over to his bed.

"Girlfriend? What happened?" Aomine asked in confusion, glancing at everyone in the room. He had absolutely no idea what was happening. "Why am I here?"

Murasakibara's eyes rounded and he leaned forward suddenly. His blank look sluggishly twisted to resemble on of deep worry. "Aka-chin, Ao-chin broke his brain!" He cried with childish conviction, now staring at Aomine's head in horror. "He doesn't remember it!"

Midorima paused in his screaming to take control of the situation, seeing that Aomine was only becoming more agitated and Murasakibara wasn't helping. "Shut up Murasakibara. Aomine, what do you remember?"

The forward stilled and thought back seriously. What had happened before he woke up covered in bandages in a hospital? "School had ended, I was in the gym practicing..." He began hesitantly, and it hit him. Stupefying as a strike of lightning and just as brutal, he suddenly remembered seeing the roof collapse into fiery rubble above Tetsu. He had rushed to shove the third-stringer out of the way, but had he succeeded?

"Tetsu! What happened? Did he get out? What happened to the gym?" He demanded rapidly, his eyes wide and body tense. What had happened to his friend? The room was bathed in utter silence, only the constant beep of machines passing by his ears. Every player stared at him blankly, uncomprehending eyes flashed on his pallid face.

Akashi finally spoke up, his mismatched eyes cold and watchful. "A fire started behind the gym. The roof was the weakest point in the gym's structure and collapsed. The entire building is now burned to the ground. You were the only one in the building." Short, unembellished facts. Akashi would never change in his serious delivery.

Aomine felt his breath leave his shaky lungs and his heart burn right out of his chest. He had been the only one in the building, he had been the only one _seen_- "Was a short kid here? Blue eyes, light hair?" He demanded breathlessly, and Akashi narrowed his eyes.

"No, only our team or Satsuki Momoi has visited you. Was there someone with you in the building?" Though the question was phrased politely it was filled with authoritive steel.

Aomine nodded, his feelings frayed and cardiac monitor beeping with a new purpose. "Tetsuya Kuroko, we practice together in the gym after school. Did you see him get out?"

With a heartbreaking finality, Akashi shook his head. "No one but you left that building."

It was completely silent after those words were uttered. Everyone was staring at Aomine, no one knew what to say. They hadn't known another was in the gym, no one had known.

Aomine blinked, feeling dumb and dizzy. Haizaki had gone drastically pale, an almost green tint on his usually scowling face. Murasakibara was now attacking a chip bag with renewed ferver, but no delight on his face. Midormia had his head bowed slightly, his face pinched.

Though they had never seen or heard of Kuroko, the knowledge that a classmate had been abandoned to the fire was sickening, horrifying.

All at once, Aomine took a sharp breath, almost choking on it. "H-he...T-Tetsu..." He stuttered, limbs shaking. "H-he might h-have made it out."

"He might have." Akashi allowed, face completely void of emotion and encouragement.

That was too much for the normally gruff player, and he curled away from his teammates. The doctors finally ran in with a new IV and began checking over his vitals.

No one said anything about the tears slowly trailing down Aomine's face the entire time.

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**Well, that was pretty OOC for everyone. Please remember that they are still in their first year of middle school, and that's pretty young to have a classmate killed so their reactions match their ages. **

**No Kuroko yet, he won't be doing much for a while so I'll be time skipping a lot.**

**Updated 3/31- Someone brought it to my attention that I had made a pretty big timeline mistake and I've fixed it to the best of my ability. **

**Because this was the first year of middle school for the GoM, Kise hasn't even met the players yet- so he isn't part of the team until the second year. I replaced him with Haizaki and switched up who first spoke to Aomine. It's not what I originally planned so I apologize if the updated version is choppy on some parts I had intended for Kise. Thank you Nomnom!**

**Update 7/17/13: I also stuck a bit more in here, editing has always been my favorite part of writing. Of course that also means I obsess over five paragraphs instead of writing five more, so a back fire on my part.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, just a heads up that I've decided to introduce an OC in this chapter. Feel free to flame me if he gets too gary-stu, I have an unreasonable hatred for OCs and would totally understand any problems. **

**I own nothing...**

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Pain, that was his very first sensation. It burned all around, holding him in a agonizing embrace. He couldn't breathe, his chest was tight with hurt. He couldn't move, his bones grated against each other relentlessly.

_He was alive_. This was his first realization as his brain sluggishly began to move past the barrier of petrifying pain. Disbelief had him stunned, how had he lived?

Shivering, feeling oddly cold despite the obvious heat surrounding him, Kuroko peeled his eyes open. They stung immediately, it felt as if something were placing itself directly against the sensitive orbs. He could barely see, everything was edged with gray and blurry.

He was somewhere dark, closed off but for one opening. The light darting through was flickering and uncertain in its brightness. Blinking, he focused on the misshapen, crumbly walls around him and realized they were pieces of plaster and steal melted together. Iron rods and wooden beams stuck out in odd places, keeping the mess of a cave from collapse. The ground beneath him was cracked and unrecognizable. Was he still in the gym? Kuroko couldn't find anything he remembered of the sweat and tear-soaked gym that squeaked eagerly whenever touched by a worn sneaker in the ruins.

The rubble were also very hot, everything seemed ready to burst into flames and scorched him easily. He felt like he was in an oven, the smell of burning flesh could be found under the suffocating smoke clogging every pore. Whimpering lowly in his ruined throat, Kuroko felt confused and miserable. The ceiling had caved in on him but he had miraculously survived. However, was it only to prolong his forgotten suffering?

Coughing weakly, he leaned forward to take a closer peek at the opening. If there was a chance he could escape the hellish fire, would he be able to take it? He could see a peek of the sky, pitch as every star was shoved out of sight by thick, almost green clouds. Only the moon could shine through, and it gave Kuroko enough light to see a sidewalk feet away from his cave of burning steel.

He licked his chapped lips, watching the patch of cool earth from what seemed like very far away. He felt so tired and hurt so badly, did he really want to push himself farther? Would it hurt so much to simply stop? Was it truly so horrible to shut his eyes again?

_"Tetsu! What the hell are you doing?"_

Kuroko twitched, lifting his head slightly. Did he just hear Aomine? Hadn't he been rescued before the building collapsed? Hadn't the firefighters made it out? Alarmed, he dragged his arms out from under him to try and push his quaking body up. Kuroko whimpered again, shutting his eyes tight as he fought to keep the position. He knew he had broken something, but he wasn't sure what.

"A-a-aomine-ku..." Kuroko rasped, tears pricking the at his eyes, his throat seemed completely destroyed. Where was the other teen?

_"Are you going to lay there forever? Come on, Tetsu!"_

What was going on? What was Aomine doing? Kuroko's fuzzy head spun in confusion, and he threw a broken arm forward. Biting straight through his lip, Kuroko gasped. "W-w-where...a-a-re y-y..." He tried, searching for the basketball player calling is name. Was he standing by the rubble? How long has Kuroko been unconscious, for Aomine to be discharged from the hospital already?

_"What a stupid question, get out here and we'll talk."_ His voice was annoyed, not malicious, so why was he ignoring Kuroko's obvious need for help? Had he broken bones and couldn't move? Was he the only one by the destroyed gym? Kuroko dug his jagged nails into the grimy floor and began to pull himself closer to the opening.

A short, blissful breeze caressed his singed skin for a moment, having blown in from the gap. Kuroko ignored the continued pain, almost desperate to feel that cool, soothing air yet again.

"A-a-aom-..." He rasped, dragging his arms out of the gap to pull his head out. His whole body screeched in protest, his muscles seemed torn open and useless, his bones scratched and ground against each other. His head swam and his eyes blurred constantly.

Once his forearms were out of the small cave of debris, Kuroko lifted himself onto the palms of his hands. Letting out short, shallow breaths, he pulled his bloody knees up and began to crawl through the ash.

_There!_

His entire body was out of the rubble, and he collapsed into a pile of burns immediately. Someone would find him now, right?

_"Tetsu, did you stay up all night or something? Get up!"_

Groaning pitifully, Kuroko barely lifted his chin from the ground to weakly glance around the area. The school grounds were completely deserted, there were haphazardly placed cones and tape around the gym, to keep everyone away. How long had he been unconscious?

Aomine wasn't in his sight, there wasn't a sign of another soul for what seemed like miles.

_"I'm over here, idiot. Geez..."_ Came an almost affectionate voice from somewhere too far for his failing eyes to see. It seemed darker over there, not touched by the fading moonlight.

Stretching out a hand, his raw fingertips brushed against cement and asphalt. Where was Aomine leading him? The street? "A-a-aomine..." He whispered hoarsely, and lifted his shivering body to crawl yet again. It might have been one of the hardest things he had ever done. His legs felt weighted and tortuously sensitive to movement, his arms wobbled and dipped to slam his head back into the ground, his whole body refused to sink into numbness and just continued sending him sensations of agony with each, raspy breath.

When he finally reached what looked like a brick wall, Aomine was silent. There was no longer any soft encouragement or confusing rebukes. It was as if the invisible teenager had vanished.

"A-a-aom-m-mine...?" Kuroko asked uncertainly, and didn't receive an answer. Had the other lost patience and left? Had he moved too far away to hear Aomine? Where was he? Tears fell down his blackened cheeks, falling to the ground as dirt charcoal drops. He felt so lost and confused and everything hurt so much it was impossible to focus. He slumped against the wall, letting his aching body drop to the cold floor numbly.

Had he been abandoned yet again? Had his cursed low presence left Aomine without the ability to locate him? His heart hurt almost as much as his head did at that point. "H-h-help..." Kuroko murmured lowly, knowing no one would hear him.

_Rustle_...

The sound of something moving had Kuroko blinking hopefully, had Aomine come back?

"W-woah! Jesus Christ, kid!" A gruff voice shouted, and Kuroko shut his eyes wearily, he couldn't concentrate.

"A-a-aomine?" He questioned dumbly, as someone dropped to their knees in front of him. A hand trailed along his side, causing a whine of pain to escape his swollen throat.

"Stay still, kid. You need some help. Hold on, hold on..."

Pressure was placed at the crook oh his knees and his lower back as Kuroko suddenly felt both weightless and even heavier. Then the pain caught up with whatever happened so quickly.

"Sorry, sorry! Just keep still!" The man muttered, and the wind seemed stronger and more constant against Kuroko's skin. Was this someone Aomine had sent? Had he gone to get help?

"A-a-aomine..." He passed out before he could hear someone huff awkwardly. His eyes closed shut with finality and his body went limp in the person's hold.

Brown eyes stared down at Kuroko in alarm and bewilderment. He didn't even notice how he picked up speed to get to where the kid could find treatment.

"Oh no, no, no, no...Geez, kid, wake up! Come on, keep breathing! You're not dying with my fingerprints all over you!"

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**What do you think? This OC will be the main point of view in the next chapter, and will also be the main cause of the Crime genre I gave this story. Also, a big group of time skips is heading our way, I'm trying to get this story to the juicy parts of the plot as quickly as I can. Feel free to give me some tips and please review!**

**Update 7/19/13**

**Yeah, I got to stop messing with these chapters. Hopefully no one will notices or take offense with what I added and replaced.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own anything, can't you tell by the now obsolete prompt and incorrect data. (That's what I get for taking another break.)**

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Jun rushed to his ratty apartment, dodging any open streets and keeping to back alleys. There was no way he was going to let the cops spot him with a blackened body in his arms. His ass would be in federal prison before he could even put the kid down.

Speaking of the blackened body, this kid was completely totalled. He smelled like nauseatingly cooked flesh and every inch of him was charred to resemble a giant lump of coal. Seriously, who finds something like this crawling into gutters? Had a gang left the kid for dead? Jun gulped, looking around nervously as he bolted for his flat. He didn't want any Yakuza trouble.

Still, there was no way he was going to leave a little boy to die in the streets. Not while there was a chance he could be saved. He may be on the crooked side, but he was still human enough to have a soft spot for kids. Then again, his ability to heal might not be much better than the passing homeless. He couldn't go to the police without expecting ten to twenty in the slammer no matter what the kid said in his defense, and he didn't think handing a ex-Yakuza kid over to easily monitored hospitals would help anymore than snapping his neck. Jun hoped his apartment would be able to hold up where the first two options couldn't, being both private and including his occupation in the outside world.

Jun slipped on a crushed beer can and jolted to keep upright, as he finally caught sight of his termite-bitten home. The kid moaned softly in his arms, and Jun winced as the of blood staining his shirt started trickling down his skin. Blood was near impossible to get out of clothes, dammit. He would have to burn the shirt later.

"Ao-Aomine..." The boy grumbled, but the man didn't glance down to see if the kid had woken up. He needed to get to his flat as quickly as possible of the kid was going to survive with all his limbs intact. He'd seen these kind of wounds before, but only on hardcore mafia traitors, or prisoners of gang-wars. Beat the guy to hell then light him up with gasoline, it was actually pretty standard knowledge for a painful death on the streets.

Practically flying up the stairs, heedless of how many bruises he was gaining from slapping into things in his rush, Jun reached his door. Kicking it open ferociously, he headed straight for his sofa and dumped the kid onto the stained cushions before pausing. He hadn't been caught, no one had seen him. He was pretty sure if someone had tried to kill the kid, they hadn't spotted Jun's rescue. He might survive this Good Samaritan act yet. Relief blossomed in his heaving chest, as he mopped perspiration from his forehead.

"Okay, okay..." He sighed briskly, and turned on his heel to head for his kitchen. Trotting past the sink of rotting dishes and fridge filled with beer, he opened up a cabinet which held enough medical supplies to support a large clinic. Living so close to the bums of the city, a guy did have to be prepared for a mugging, after all.

Swiping up as much as he could find, Jun turned on his heel to go treat his new patient. He hoped the kid had some rich parents or something, the stash had taken years and cash to create. If not, he supposed pressuring him into doing a few odd jobs wouldn't be _too_ cruel. Jun was the reason this kid would be able to walk at all- as long as all this medicine was still good past expiration dates, that is.

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**This one is pretty short, but I really want your opinion about this OC. This is the first I've ever done and I'm really nervous. I absolutely despise all OCs and would totally understand if you guys hate mine- just please give me some good advice to help make him more realistic.**

**Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Courtney Asher, who gave me the sweetest and most heartfelt review I've ever received. Thanks and I hope I don't disappoint.**

**Update 7/19/13: Nothing edited here. This is one of the newer chapters so I already tweaked the hell out of it. I am content. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next one! I would just like to thank everyone who PMed me, you guys were so wonderful and understanding. Seriously, this one's for you.**

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Aomine left the hospital after one more night for observations. The room had been completely silent, the bed had felt frigid underneath him no matter how long he lay in the same spot. All the monitors around him seemed almost mocking in their mundane ways, as if shoving all Aomine had experienced after waking up in his face.

Now outside the awful hospital room, the morning was a crisp and young. He snatched a pair of crutches and hobbled out the doors with his parents. They had signed him out as soon as possible, no doubt trying to get him home where they could discuss what had happened in private. The nurses at that particular hospital were notorious gossips.

The only things he had physically sustained from the fire was a small concussion, a twisted ankle, and a slight cough. All of which should be gone within two weeks. He could be playing basketball again in two weeks without any lasting damage, but was he motivated enough? Tetsu had served as plenty of inspiration, trying his absolute hardest no matter how weak he really was. If all basketball players had that determination, Aomine would have plenty more rivals in the court.

The question of spirit shook Aomine, who had never questioned his desire to dominate the sport. What did he have other than basketball skills? He had built his entire life around something he wasn't sure he had the energy to do anymore. He felt old and stiff, maybe it was a side effect from having a concussion, though.

Momoi ran to him as soon as they were outside, homework and get-well cards from school were held in her arms and practically hid her face from view. "Daiki!" She cheered, a huge, relieved smile on her face. When the air head remembered there were others in vicinity, she hurriedly nodded to his parents apologetically before giving him a sharp once-over.

"You look okay for someone who's dead or dying according to the school gossip." She grinned, and Aomine let the corners of his lips pull up in his best attempt for a returning smirk. His face felt frozen, though, it was hard to get everything to work correctly. It was like the fire had frozen his muscles instead of burned the gym down, everything was unwilling and jerky.

Tetsu hadn't visited him, and Akashi had confirmed that no hospitals in the area had admitted any boys fitting his description. It was very nearly a reality that his training partner hadn't...been rescued. It was painful to even think about. He had thrown himself at Tetsu in hopes of saving him from the falling fire, but had he only condemned him to death instead? Had his choice to shove the smaller player across the gym only served to kill him? Was Aomine a murderer? That might haunt him for the rest of his life. It was certainly already circling over him no matter what he did to avoid it.

Despite the urgings of his parents, Aomine couldn't thank the firefighters who'd saved him, he couldn't look them in the eye and feel gratitude. Just seeing their proud faces on the news had set his blood boiling. He wanted to storm to their truck and demand to know why they hadn't been able to see another boy in trouble during the fire. He wanted to ask them why they had chosen to save one instead of the other. He knew why, Tetsu was damn hard to notice on a good day, but he wanted to see them struggle for an explanations. Aomine wanted to hear something that could possibly justify the fact that he hadn't heard from his friend in two days.

The boy shook his head sharply, Tetsu might had made it out anyway. Perhaps his parents were getting him treated privately and he hadn't had time to visit Aomine. He couldn't have killed his friend, it wasn't possible. Tetsu had to be alive, he had to be practicing hard after hours, he had to be waiting to meet up with Aomine every day at school to make the trip worth it.

"Daiki..." Momoi murmured, snapping him from his spiral of grief. A warm arm was slung over his shoulder, as the girl led him to his parents' car slowly. He pretended not to notice how much he leaned into the half hold, he pretended not to notice the pitying looks his parents sent him. They hadn't spoken to him much past the expected hugs and teary blubbering of parents who had just been scared out of their wits. They had coddled him the first day, hovered nervously and demanded to know everything about his condition. After that, the awkward silences had set in, the lack of conversation and tense stares. They didn't know how to handle him now, if they ever did. The seriousness of his dilemma seemed to overwhelm them.

"He- he _could_ be alive, Satsuki..." He whispered roughly, though she hadn't said a word. No one had brought up Tetsu willingly, no one wanted to discuss it. Aomine found himself pushing, though, forcing them to answer all his obsessive thoughts over the hard working bench warmer. It was one of the reasons the other players had already left, some were just too blunt to humor the devastated boy.

She nodded without even bothering to hide her grim expression as he was placed in the car beside his crutches. She was already used to the random instances, already used to the unneccessary confrontations. It was a way for him to cope, to argue his point. If it helped keep the guilt from crushing him, Momoi would answer every single time.

"Akashi is already having a team look through the remains of the gym." Momoi tried to comfort, but Aomine had visibly cringed away at the usage of 'remains', his empty eyes staring down at the floor of the car.

For a moment, Momoi felt it possible to hate this 'Tetsu', this friend no one had seen or heard of before. She could just taste the anger burning for the person who had caused Daiki so much misery, who had crushed his care free spirit. How dare this Tetsu break her best friend? How dare he do what no one else could and take away his spirit? However, as soon as it had reached a level where she could scowl freely, it dropped away, suddenly insubstantial. Realistically, it was impossible to hate someone she knew had died forgotten and alone in the rubble of a school building. She could never hate what she pitied.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, she plopped the homework and cards onto the boy's lap, hoping it might cheer him up later. Slamming the door shut, she watched the family drive off, leaving her alone in the hospital parking lot.

"Dammit, Daiki..." She huffed, curling her hands into fists as she began her trek home, confused and miserable.

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**And that's that! I know the plot wasn't forwarded much, but I needed a good time skip. I doubt you guys want to spend twenty-four hours listening to Jun be paranoid. There are a lot of time skips coming our way, so does anyone have any requests involving chapters looking into certain character's thoughts during this time? **

**Thanks for reading and please leave a review on your way out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer; I still don't own anything, but I'll let you know if I do.**

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By the third day, Jun was beginning to worry. The kid hadn't shown any sign of waking up and he was running out of take-out and beer. Could he leave the kid alone for two hours? Would something happen? He didn't know how to treat a kid in this situation, he had never met a child who had been under such serious yakuza punishment. Usually the brats trying to join yakuza were treated as disposable lackeys, no one would actively work at giving them the whole shebang.

But here was this kid, who had both arms broken and half his ribs snapped, and was torched slowly from the looks of it, before being left to die. Would he even be sane if he woke up? The kid had been mumbling about some Aomine guy, was he a just a name conjured from insanity? Just how important had he been underground? Someone who knew too much? A baby brother to a targeted boss?

Growling, he turned to the kid and knew it was time to check him over again. The kid better be loaded with all the attention and supplies Jun was giving to him so generously. He needed some extra cash badly after this, for food, comfort and rent,

Dragging the kid's blanket lower, Jun peeled away the bandages covering every inch of him. Thankfully the kid hadn't woken up while Jun had been stripping him, he didn't need Sex Offender being added on to his long list of distasteful titles. Pouring disinfectant over as many wounds as possible, he began to rub it in with a swab. As always, the swab came away a dark gray, the kid was absolutely covered in crap. Had they torched him in a giant fireplace? His already questionable couch was now ruined.

The kid frowned in his sleep, shifting away from him weakly. Jun paid no attention and started checking over the burns. The broken bones should heal okay, it's not like the kid was moving around enough to have them set badly. However, the burns ranged from completely toasted to simple blistering all over.

Jun wrinkled his nose as he began rubbing some cream into the blacker burns. He didn't have enough for everything, so hopefully the lesser burns will heal by themselves. The kid flinched and he felt a hint of sympathy for what had to be a pretty painful experience. He had once stuck his hand on a burning pan; that had hurt like a bitch.

Finished, he leaned over to get a good look at the cuts. If he wasn't sure the kid had been involved with yakuza, the cuts had certainly convinced him. Long slashes fell down his back and short gashes littered his arms and legs. The kid had fought back too, his destroyed nails and crooked fingers attested to that.

Jun had pricked his own fingers a dozen times trying to stitch the cuts closed, he probably looked ridiculous with the spatter of bandaids covering his hands. Just more incentive to demand payment once the fiasco was over.

Re-wrapping everything with the swiftly shrinking roll of gauze, he finished and turned away to go wash his hands. Jun hated the smell of antiseptic, it's sharp scent seemed to take over his entire living room now. When he grabbed a beer from the fridge and plopped down on a cushion he'd placed on the floor, Jun switched the television on and resigned himself to another day of sitcom reruns. God, it was kind of degrading to treat another person, to give them half your stuff and be left sitting on the ground.

Shaking his head, Jun turned the volume up and began gulping down the beer like his life depended on it. He was tired and stressed, this was such a chore. This is exactly why he never planned to have kids, they were such troublesome brats. He would know, having been one of the worst in his youth.

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After Akashi had pulled a few strings for him, Aomine had finally been given the address for Kuroko's house. The school had been reluctant to give it and he couldn't sneak into the file room with a pair of crutches, so blackmail it was.

After thanking the shorter teen, Aomine had immediately ditched school and set off. His first day since the fire had sucked anyway. Everyone had stared, obviously and without shame, even the teachers. Most had even gone up to him to ask if he was okay, as if they cared. Aomine had ignored them, chowing on his food like a normal person.

No one had mentioned Tetsu, not once. Not the teacher during roll call, not any of his classmates. The kid who had sat next to him for six months hadn't even noticed the empty seat. For some reason, this seemed like a slap in the face to Aomine. It hurt his own pride to know what someone so important to him could disappear without notice.

Even now, it made him angry, he grit his teeth and hobbled swiftly down the street. No doubt the teachers had already called his parents once he had skipped out on two classes in a row, but they wouldn't find him until he was finished with his visit.

He needed to know that Tetsu was alright, that he had made it out of the fire by some miracle. Stranger things had happened, right? Tetsu might have even been in the hospital, if firefighters could ignore him, why not nurses?

When Aomine finally reached his destination, he swallowed nervously. His palms felt cold and sweaty and a pounding headache was already attacking his temple.

With a shaky hand, he knocked on the door of the large, suburban house.

For some reason, he felt extremely awkward as he waited for someone to answer. Had he expected an immediate answer? Shifting in place, Aomine busied his hands by playing with the handles of his crutches.

When the door clicked open he straightened and stiffened, something like terror blew straight through him.

An old woman stared up at him in confusion, a cigarette peeking from the corner of her mouth and glasses perched on the edge of her nose. "What do you want?" She asked bluntly, and he cleared his throat.

"Ah-er-, does a Kuroko Tetsuya live here?" He mumbled desperately, shifting to peek past the woman's shoulder and look inside.

She frowned and pulled the cigarette away from her mouth. "I think a Kuroko is renting one of the rooms here, but I've never seen him. I'm renting a room across, so if you want to talk to the owner about them you'll have to travel to Rome." The old woman shrugged, her eyes narrowing enviously. "Lucky bastard..."

Aomine licked his chapped lips, shifting once again. Kuroko was only renting a room, did that mean his parents were somewhere else? "Do you mind if I look in his room? He's been missing from school."

Without a care, the old woman opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him pass. Bowing in gratitude, he followed her instructions to get to the boy's room and raced inside with a whole new type of dread.

There wasn't a soul in sight, the entire room was a empty save for a small bed, a bag of basketball equipment and a few letters littering a desk. Some homework from four days ago was sitting unfinished beside it.

It seemed Kuroko hadn't returned. Swallowing what felt like a lump of glass, he took a short breath and turned away. Dragging his feet on the dusty carpet, Aomine trailed back down, slumped and defeated.

The woman eyed him for a moment at the bottom of the stairs, inhaling deeply from her cigarette. "Is Kuroko in some kind of trouble?" She asked curiously, and he didn't bother answering. Ghosting right past her, Aomine walked out the door to tread slowly back to school.

"Wait," Aomine jerked to a halt, turned to stare back at the old woman with what he hoped were perfectly dry eyes.

"I know that Kuroko had some relatives around here, they pay every month for the rent. Just wait a week and they should come around." She explained, and a small, fragile flame of hope reignited in his chest.

"T-thank you, ma'am." He stuttered, bowing to her once again before limping back home with what he hoped might be a new lead. Akashi had yet to tell him a corpse had been found in the rubble, and he would search without a doubt that Tetsu was still alive until then. At least that was what he promised himself, so why was he so scared to continue looking?

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**Since my chapters have been really short, I decided to combine two. It's still pretty short in comparison to other stories, but I hope this will make mine a bit better over all. **

**Still more time skips up ahead, but I hope they won't be too awkward or lose anybody. Kuroko needs to heal for the plot to move forward, and that's going to take a while. **

**Until then, does anyone want anything to happen while we wait? While I won't guarantee I'll add it, or not modify it, I'm not opposed to fleshing these transitions out a bit more.**

**Thanks and please review!**


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